Wooten leading Lady Huskies turnaround

There’s a different feel in the Hewitt-Trussville High School girls soccer program these days.

That’s intentional.

Hewitt-Trussville brought in Lauren Wooten over the summer to lead the Lady Huskies, and she set about to change the vibe of a program coming off a disappointing 2019 campaign.

“This is a completely different year, a different season,” Wooten told her team from the outset of preseason practice in January. “Change your perspective and focus on what you can do, which is to go all in.”

That approach took root and paid dividends through the first month of the season, before the COVID-19 pandemic halted the season in mid-March.

In the season’s first 10 games, the Lady Huskies won eight of them. A 4-3 loss to Chelsea to begin the season and a 3-1 loss to Vestavia Hills on March 10 bookended an eight-game winning streak in which Hewitt-Trussville held every opponent off the scoreboard.

The Lady Huskies shut out Hoover 1-0 on Feb. 14 before combining to outscore Daphne, Fort Payne and Trinity Presbyterian 7-0 in the Lakeshore Shootout. Following that, Hewitt-Trussville knocked off Prattville 4-0 and dispatched Pinson Valley 11-0.

On March 3, the Lady Huskies earned their first area win in nearly two years with a 3-0 defeat of Mountain Brook. They then beat South Paulding (Georgia) 3-0 before the Vestavia Hills loss.

“Getting those wins at the beginning of the season key for us,” Wooten said. “The Vestavia loss was hard because they didn’t play to their potential, and it was a game they felt like they should’ve been more successful.”

ALL IN

Wooten is no stranger to a turnaround. Her first head coaching job came at Auburn High School last season. She promptly took a program that went 5-11-1 in 2018 to a 14-7-3 mark and an appearance in the state semi-finals in 2019. Hewitt was 6-7-2 last spring and surpassed that win total with the Mountain Brook win on March 3.

When Wooten arrived in Trussville, she implemented a summer workout program. It wasn’t mandatory, but the number of players that willingly participated was pleasing to the new coach.

Wooten took a few weeks off early in the school year and returned from maternity leave in late October and ramped things up even more.

“The hardest thing for the girls was buying into what we were doing,” she said.

In December, the Lady Huskies gathered as a team and set forth their personal and collective goals for the 2020 season. The team also decided on a phrase to guide its journey.

“They came up with the motto, 'All in.' That mentality will be every rep, to push ourselves 100 percent, give effort in the classroom, be responsible, work hard in practice, be good leaders and be involved in the community. They took their own motto and ran with it.”

That team meeting acted as a launching point for Wooten’s group. Once preseason practices rolled around in January, the team was prepared to move forward.

“They were all on time, they’re encouraging each other, I don’t have to hold them accountable,” Wooten said.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP

Wooten gave much of the credit for the Lady Huskies’ strong start to the season to the six seniors on the squad, a group that has proven its ability to guide the team through thick and thin.

“My seniors are doing a great job stepping up and keeping the underclassmen on track," Wooten said.

Kendall Sedran has been a pillar in goal for Hewitt-Trussville. She helped lead the way to those eight straight shutouts. Wooten particularly praised her play in the 3-1 loss to Vestavia Hills. The Lady Rebels won their first 14 contests of the year, coming off a 2019 season that saw them go 23-0, win the Class 7A state championship and finish as the MaxPreps national champions.

Allison Kerins is a defensive midfielder, and Payton Berry is an outside back. Both came to the soccer team following a successful season with the Lady Huskies bowling team, which advanced to the state tournament.

Lizzy Hurst led the Lady Huskies in goals scored, and her coach calls her one of the most underrated seniors in the state.

“I don’t know how she hasn’t been recruited by more schools,” Wooten said.

Many people will recognize Jordan Lynn from her days in the fall serving as the Hewitt-Trussville football team’s place-kicker. As successful as she was in that role, she has signed to play soccer at Mercer University. She’s a natural defender but has played in the midfield for the Lady Huskies this season.

“She’s the most competitive and athletic person I’ve ever met,” Wooten said.

Maris May tore her ACL in the first week of practice and wasn’t able to contribute on the field this season, but she was voted one of the team’s captains along with Lynn and Sedran. She has remained involved with the team and even attended a game two days following surgery.

Wooten also praised her back line of defense for aiding Sedran in keeping eight clean sheets. Junior Brooklyn Johnson and sophomores Hannah O’Kelley and Mary Alston were the primary defenders this season.

“They work well together, they communicate well together, they’re strong. We have a talented back line, and they’re young,” Wooten said.

UNCERTAIN TIMES

As of mid-March, Wooten was holding onto hope that the Lady Huskies would be able to finish the season in a fitting manner.

“It’s hard to think that they’re not going to get to finish the season they’ve worked so hard for,” she said. “If we do finish the season, we’re going to finish on a high note, we’re going to finish what we started.”

However, on March 26, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and state Superintendent Eric Mackey held a press conference announcing that there would be no more in-person instruction for the remainder of the school year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. This effectively eliminated any chance of resumption for spring sports.

That was confirmed by the Alabama High School Athletic Association the following morning.

“Like thousands of others, I am deeply saddened and disappointed that our schools have closed, and spring sports will not have an opportunity to finish their seasons,” AHSAA Executive Director Steve Savarese said in a statement.

But Wooten believes this class of seniors will still have something positive to cling to from the season.

“The biggest thing I would tell the girls is they’ve already left an impact on the program. The way they’ve changed the culture will continue moving forward,” Wooten said.

For more photos from this season, see our photo gallery here.